Georgia deputy who shot absolved man had prior firing for excessive force. Critics blame the sheriff
https://apnews.com/article/deputy-shooting-georgia-exonerated-leonard-cure-a59c5ec381f11da36e9f6288d98fd6cd
(video at link)
Georgia deputy who shot absolved man had prior firing for excessive force. Critics blame the sheriff
BY RUSS BYNUM
Updated 12:16 AM EST, November 20, 2023
When Staff Sgt. Buck Aldridge fatally shot Leonard Cure during a roadside struggle after pulling him over for speeding, it wasnt the first time a traffic stop involving the Camden County sheriffs deputy had spiraled into violence.
Last year, Aldridge dragged a driver from a car that crashed after fleeing the deputy on Interstate 95. Body and dash camera video obtained by The Associated Press show the driver on his back as Aldridge punches him. Records indicate the deputy faced no disciplinary action.
Personnel records show Aldridge was fired in August 2017 by a police department in the same Georgia county after he threw a woman to the ground and handcuffed her during a traffic stop. The Camden County Sheriffs Office hired him nine months later.
Aldridge stopped Cure for speeding Oct. 16 and ended up shocking the 53-year-old Black man with a Taser after he refused to put his hands behind him to be cuffed. Body and dash camera videos show Cure fought back and had a hand at the deputys throat when Aldridge shot him point-blank.
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